WEBB, N.Y. — The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) has released a final recreation-management plan (RMP) for the Three Lakes Track Conservation Easement in the town of Webb in Herkimer County. The 3,350-acre Three Lakes Tract is comprised of commercially managed forestland and is named for the three bodies of water on […]
WEBB, N.Y. — The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) has released a final recreation-management plan (RMP) for the Three Lakes Track Conservation Easement in the town of Webb in Herkimer County.
The 3,350-acre Three Lakes Tract is comprised of commercially managed forestland and is named for the three bodies of water on the property — Hitchcock, Grass, and Moose ponds.
The DEC holds the conservation easement, which is a voluntary, legal agreement that protects the natural resources of a parcel of land by restricting future land use and/or development on the property permanently, according to the department’s website. The agreement is between the landowner and a government agency, with the landowner maintaining ownership. The easement can be sold or donated, resulting in a variety of tax benefits. It is recorded with the property’s deed and transfers to all future landowners.
Bluesource, LLC owns the Three Lakes Tract, and the conservation easement restricts development, allows for the continued harvest of forest products, and permits specific public recreation opportunities. Any other access or activity is prohibited and can result in trespassing charges.
The DEC’s final plan for the tract expands public recreational opportunities on the property consistent with the conservation easement. The plan includes:
• Maintaining two existing snowmobile trails totaling 4.8 miles on the property;
• Establishing hiking trails connecting McCarty Road in the Independence River Wild Forest to the Blue, Hitchcock, Grass, and Moose ponds including 4.4 miles of trail on the easement, 2.9 miles following existing snowmobile trails, 1.5 miles involving minimal construction, and a possible connector trail up to 0.6 miles to the Ha-De-Ron-Dah Wilderness Area;
• Allowing primitive camping throughout the property with three primitive campsites to be established near Hitchcock, Grass, and Moose ponds and an accessible campsite near Blue Pond;
• Allowing hunting, fishing, and trapping throughout the property consistent with DEC regulations;
• Allowing paddling throughout the property; and
• Developing and distributing new recreation maps and information to the public.
The plan is online at www.dec.ny.gov/docs/lands_forests_pdf/3lakesfinalrmp.pdf.
